Training future psychologists to be competent in self-care: A systematic review.

Abstract

The purpose of this systematic review of the literature was to explore the ways in which clinical, counseling, and school psychology doctoral-level graduate students are trained to build competency in self-care and the scientific methodologies that are being used to assess self-care competency trainings. Twenty self-care competency training articles were identified. Results from the systematic review revealed that the majority of studies conducted were quantitative (50%), followed by mixed methods (25%), theoretical (15%), and qualitative (10%). Over half of the quantitative studies used a cross-sectional design. A pre-post test design was also commonly used, but none included a control group. The qualitative portions of the mixed study designs were varied, including exploratory, content and thematic analysis, and grounded theory. Furthermore, five themes of self-care training content were identified: Self-care interventions, mentorship and supervision, self-compassion, workbooks and training tools, and creating a culture of self-care. More rigorous methodology is needed to determine the efficacy of each of five themes of training that have been identified. Recommendations were made for future research, both within the five identified themes and for self-care training studies in general.%%%%M.S., Psychology  – Drexel University, 2018